Guarding and Imparting the Faith (March 9, 2025)

What are the qualifications for me to become a part of the Pentecostal Ministry?

• Moses complained that he could not speak well
• Ehud had no weapons
• Deborah was a woman
• Jephthah was an outcast from his family
• Samuel was just a boy
• David was a young shepherd with no leadership experience
• Elisha was a plow-boy
• Amos was a farmer of sycamore figs
• Jeremiah’s family were disgraced descendants of Eli
• The twelve disciples of Jesus would not fit our requirements for the perfect pastor
• Jesus would not be welcomed in many churches today

Paul talks about qualifications in his first letter to the Corinthians Church.

1 Corinthians 1:26–29 ~ “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

Peter also makes observations about Pentecostal ministry, by quoting Joel.

Acts 2:17–18 ~ “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.”

So, what is God looking for in someone to minister His Word? Let’s look at four specific categories for some qualifications.

CALLING:

First, anyone who wants to ministry the gospel must have a strong sense of calling; this calling will bring strength to that individual especially during the difficult times of conflict, disappointment, and setbacks – and trust me, these times do come in ministry.

CHARACTER:

In order to be a minister of the gospel of Christ, one must have a deep moral character. This character will be called into question time and time again. Character includes, but is not limited to, integrity, honesty, self-discipline and holiness.

1 Timothy 4:12 ~ “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

CHARISMA:

We are NOT using this word in the popular sense of a dynamic and captivating personality, but the biblical sense of the word. The Greek word for Charisma is used as a Spiritual Gift. We often refer to this today as “the anointing”. A Pentecostal minister is expected to display the gifts of the Holy Spirit, however, I take this deeper. I believe that a Pentecostal minister not only needs the anointing or a display of the GIFTS of the Holy Spirit, but also the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit.

According to the Bible, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are typically listed as: wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues.

The fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

Galatians 5:22–23 ~ “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

COMPETENCE:

To be a minister for God, one must also be competent in some, not necessarily all, of the essential skills of ministry. We know that calling, character and charisma are very important, but one must also have skills for ministry. Please know, you may not have ALL of these and you may have SOME or MOST of these. Yes, there are ministers that possess ALL, but know that EVERYONE is different.

A list of some, not all of, the skills that ministers COULD and SHOULD be competent in could be listed as the following: preaching, teaching, leading, pastoral care, administration, creative planning, fundraising, directing worship and the list goes on and on. But the TOP of this list, in my opinion, is discipleship.

In our church, here at Coosa Valley Church of God, we have many ministers in the church: Sunday School Teachers, Youth Leaders, Children Leaders, Administrators, Musicians, Music Leaders, Sound and Media, Social Media, and the list goes on and on.

So, knowing all of this, where do you want to START, RE-START, ADD TO in being a Minister for God?